Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Sérgio França Danese, na Reunião de Alto Nível para assinalar o décimo aniversário do Dia Internacional de Comemoração e Dignidade das Vítimas do Crime de Genocídio e da Prevenção deste Crime - 9 de dezembro de 2025 (texto em inglês)

Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, at the "High-Level meeting to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime" - December 9th, 2025

Madam President, distinguished delegates,

On this day 77 years ago, the General Assembly unanimously defined one of the most fundamental rules of civilization, human rights, and international law.

By adopting the Genocide Convention, Member States confirmed that prevention and punishment of genocide, whether in time of peace or in war, requires active engagement, from everybody and everywhere.

This is a peremptory norm of international law, establishing obligations incumbent upon all States. It admits no reservations or exceptions; it tolerates no ambiguity.

This was already true in 1948, and is no less true today. Yet thousands of innocent people are still falling victim to this abominable crime.
Preventing genocide entails ensuring that governments, armed forces, and all parties to armed conflict understand and adhere to the rules of international law and international humanitarian law.

In this context, Brazil, China, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan and South Africa, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, launched last year the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment for International Humanitarian Law.

We were driven by a profound sense of responsibility, in a context of widespread, constant and blatant violations. Deliberate attacks against civilians, including children, humanitarian and medical personnel, UN workers, hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure have become a new normal.

Against this backdrop, the Global Initiative was launched to reinforce respect for both the letter and the spirit of the Geneva Conventions. It aims to nurture compliance, advancing on the protection of human dignity and paving the way for peace.

As we thank all States who have joined this crucial effort, and prepare for next year's "High Level Conference to Uphold Humanity in War", Brazil reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the legal and practical protections that ensure that, even in war, humanity prevails.

Madam President,

As we gather in observance of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, I cannot fail to mention the catastrophe in the State of Palestine.

Over the last two years, thousands of Palestinians have been deliberately killed, maimed, starved and displaced, both in Gaza and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Brazil welcomes all efforts to achieve a ceasefire and a just and lasting peace in the region through the Two-State solution. Yet there can be no peace without justice, and no justice without compliance with international law.

This is why we decided to intervene in the proceedings initiated by South Africa before the International Court of Justice on the basis of the Genocide Convention. Brazil's intervention is grounded on the firm belief that the convention is not a mere declaration of recommendations; it is a binding legal instrument every State is required to respect and implement.

Initiatives that aim at distorting and instrumentalizing concepts with the goal of shielding States that perpetrate acts of genocide must be denounced and condemned.

Let us remember that today and everyday. Let us all renew our 77-year old commitment to liberate humankind from the scourge of genocide. And let this commitment translate from words to concrete action.

Thank you.